Meet Sarah Hess

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Hess and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always wanted to start my own business, and have something that I work for that is solely mine and life giving. I started Bay Beach Thrift initially as a fun little hobby that could be a creative and fun outlet for me. I was working at an estate planning law firm at the time and it was very draining as someone who loves to create. Bay Beach Thrift became my outlet, and it turned into a passion and full adventure to turn it into thriving business. I poured so much time, effort, and money into getting it off the ground, and I am still working toward my ultimate dream of reselling full time.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Bay Beach Thrift is an online thrift store that promotes sustainable fashion. I love sourcing the best quality, brands, and unique pieces to customers at a fraction of the retail price. Clothing changes our behavior. When you feel good about your outfit you FEEL GOOD. I love offering fun, trendy, and unique pieces to help others build their wardrobe for an affordable price, all while helping the environment. I live on the Gulf Coast, and my page is very inspired by the beach life. You will find a lot of boho, beachy pieces. I started out Bay Beach Thrift in a little corner in my bedroom in my apartment. What started as a fun side project turned into a full business and dream to pursue reselling full time. I now have a full office space with racks of clothes and inventory, along with a shipping station to make shipping out packages more seamless. It was honestly easy to start initially because I didn’t start off with any expectations for myself. I was just doing it for fun, and my page took off. Once I realized how much I loved it, and how I could one day make this my full time job, I jumped in head first and decided to pursue it as a full time career. After this leap of faith, I poured in a lot of hard work, and still continue to! It takes a lot of time and energy to stay on top of the instagram algorithm, making content, sourcing the best pieces, cleaning them, photographing them, editing the photos and posting collections. As my business has grown, so have orders! They take time to package up and ship out. The biggest challenge for me is growing my accounts instagram page. The more followers that find me, ultimately the higher chance someone shops from my page! I still work full time at an 8-5pm job as I work on Bay Beach Thrift. Having a full time job, while trying to build one on the side can have its challenges. I spend most of my weekends working on my business. I’ve learned how to make the process more efficient so I still have more down time, since I was working pretty much 7 days a week at the beginning.
I want the world to know that know that 22.6 BILLION pounds of clothing and textile waste ends up in landfills each year. Fast fashion like shein is destroying our planet, and sustainable shopping is one way we can make a difference to help our environment, while also saving so much money in the process. A lot of the items I sell are even new with tags still on them. Thrifting also is a great way to find your own unique, personal style.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live about 5 minutes from the beautiful beaches of Gulf Shores, AL. Here is the itinerary I would have for a friend coming into town.
Friday night, dinner and cocktails on the water at the Perch – a more upscale restaurant/bar that has a large outdoor deck with fire pits and jazz music that overlooks the water.
Saturday: Beach day, of course! We’d wake up early, walk to one of my favorite coffee shops, and then pop by the beignet store right next door to have beignets and coffee. Walk home, get ready for the beach. Head to Fruitful and pick up smoothie bowls on the way to the beach. Swim, tan, read all day. Head out around 4pm and get ready for dinner. Head out for dinner at OSO, a very beachy venue with live music. After dinner, hit the Flora Bama on the way home for a bushwhacker and a few songs. Get back home and play some board games.
Sunday: Rent kayaks and go kayaking through the state park. Bikes are free at the state park, so I would also do that, and pack a picnic to eat at one of the overlook spots. Grab a coffee from Foam on the way home. Sunset dolphin cruise at night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom installed the love of thrifting in me at a young age. Some of my favorite outings with my mom growing up were going to garage sales and thrift stores and treasure hunting. Thanks to her, I love thrifting and sustainable fashion.
My husband is absolutely amazing, and is so encouraging and supportive of me and my business. He helped me brainstorm video ideas, encouraged me when sales started off slow, helped me learn editing techniques, stayed with me at Pop-Up markets after helping me set up / tear down my booth (and would bring me coffee), and overall always just encourages me to wholeheartedly “go for it!”. I am so thankful for him and how he encourages me so well.
The small town we live in also has such a heart for supporting local businesses, which I am always thankful for.

Instagram: @baybeachthrift